Hello 2007!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

No matter how 2006 turned out to be, it is time to close the chapter and move on to 2007. A brand new start where new experiences, learnings and discoveries await to unfold.

What I wish for 2007 will be:

• To grow in my walk with God;
• World peace and Mother Earth will be less angry;
• Good health and lots of laughter;
• Happiness for Grimlock and my girls;
• And that you love and be loved always! (This point is best illustrated with the "rare" photos below. Pls excuse the inconsistent quality because we're in the midst of trying out our new Canon IXUS 850 digital camera.)

Just when we thought Braun & Skoda were all "lovey, dovey", Skoda decided to pull the brakes. Skoda to Braun: "Ok, that is quite enough!"

Braun to Skoda: "Alright, alright, I'm cool!"

"I gotta have my personal space!"

"Oops, we're on camera...ok ok for the official records, we're the best of pals!"

Glad Tidings!

Last year, there was only Skoda, Grimlock and I spending Christmas together @ the Cove. This Christmas, Braun and Mikki have been added to the family.

We @ the Cove (from the most to least junior) wish you...

JOY,

(Yes, it has been a joy watching Mikki grow in size, strength and health after the recent X-ray scare. She tipped the scales at 500g on last Fri, 22 Dec, an increase of 150g just over one week! It is becoming more and more difficult to take still shots of Mikki because she is always in action.)

LOVE

(Braun has been afflicted with a skin problem since two months ago. Bald spots and tiny red bumps started to surface on her body. Brought her to see the vet on 18 December who diagnosed the problem as fungal growth or ringworm. This girl would lick off the cream almost as soon as we applied it on the affected areas, so we had to make her wear a cone which is making her rather moody. Bringing her back to the vet on next Wed, 27 Dec for her review. Keeping my fingers crossed that she will make a complete recovery soon!)

and PEACE!

(Skoda also had a outbreak of tiny red spots on her face on 14 Dec so we brought her to the vet the following day. The vet gave her a jab and diagnosed the problem as an allergic reaction. We racked our heads hard but couldn't pinpoint what might have triggered it. Thank God that the spots subsided within three days. I bought two packets of durians yesterday night. Braun came quickly to check out the plastic bag, but when I opened it, she scooted off just as quickly. Skoda came next. And guess what, Skoda loves durians ha ha - I let her try a little and she kept pestering me for more. Now that's my girl, mmeeooooowww!)

Last but not least, from Grimlock and I: you've a jolly good time!! And here is how we might look like...

Ha, ha, gotcha ya!

Grimlock

Ever wonder why I nicknamed my husband as Grimlock? Some years back he had a blog too and that was the name he picked for himself. More importantly, he collects Transformers toy robots. You can see them in a display unit in my living room.

So who is this character. Grimlock? Here is what I found on the Internet: "Grimlock is the name of three frictional characters in the Transformers universe. Grimlock, the most fearsome and powerful member of the Dinobots, is never happier than in battle. He is a valiant warrior whose actions command respect from all who are witness to them, both friend and foe. One of his most distinguishing features is his famous speech impediment, which leads him to shorten sentences and refer to himself constantly as "Me", never "I" - the reason for this varies from depiction to depiction, with some making it the result of true mental limitations, and others a ruse Grimlock perpetrates to allow others to think of him as less intelligent than he actually is."

Mighty Mouse

Bet you didn't know I was a TV star, right?!?! No lah, just pulling off a fast one, hee hee. Some years back, I signed up for a Yahoo account and "MightyMouse" was what I coined as my user ID. Since then, this nick had stuck with me. Kind of fits me well, especially now that I've three cats - well, just so they know who's the boss (don't under-estimate the underdog), ha ha.

Christ is the Reason for the season!

Christmas literally means the Mass or Celebration of Christ. It commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ about 2000 years ago.

For God himself came in the form of a human being to save us from our sins, so that those who believe will be forgiven of their wrongdoing.

JOY TO THE WORLD!
Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing.

Joy to the world, the Saviour reigns!
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy.

He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders, wonders, of His love.

"Tick tock, tick tock..."

Another interesting article that I came across some time back in The Straits Times (13 Nov). I almost must read my papers everyday. Rather than yak about my girls (I mean, cats) and rant/whine on and on about myself, depth and a variety of topics are what I want to cover at the Cove - this is how I see myself keeping up with it.

Back to the article.... Well, before I got married, people with "good intentions" kept asking when I would tie the knot, questioning why I wasn't doing so yet (if I thought I was still young) and so on and so forth. Honestly, I then enjoyed my singlehood thoroughly and wished I had more time to do my own things. I got married two years back (finally, to some people) and I would say I still enjoy a lot of personal space. I'm just as happy being married. I just have enough time to juggle between my job, my keep fit regime, housework, spend time with Grimlock, spend time with my girls, and a little time left for my other miscellaneous pursuits. I don't see how I can cope or fit a baby into my schedule.

And people with "good intentions" have been asking when I plan to have a baby, questioning why I wasn't doing so yet (and again reminding me I'm not that young anymore). Some never fail to ask when we meet up and this gets on my nerves at times. Isn't having a baby something personal? Something that Grimlock and I will look into and "take care of"? I can't be rude and tell the person to please mind his/her own business, right? When I was looking for a job, the same questions popped up too at interviews - employers who are worried that some time down the road, I'll be taking three months of maternity leave. Some of these interviewers are married women themselves, perhaps with family too - shouldn't they be more pro-family?

I've friends who would love to have kids but the stork has yet to bring the good news. And if I were in the same plight, wouldn't the questions add salt to the wound? I make it a point not to ask such questions of my married friends without kids. Maybe some had thought I'm replacing kids with cats. Nope, they are two completely different species - they fulfill different needs in my life and both would qualify as my family on equal standing. I'm definitely child-friendly, don't mind reaching out to carry a baby/child (hopefully the baby/child will be nice to me too) and I love the simplicity and innocence of a child. (Some times, I'm a kid myself too, ha ha.) I'm not going to have a baby just because I ought to or to offload the pressure. I'm going to take my time, and yes, I know I'm not that young - thank you.

Responses from the article:

"I'll Survive!"

Came across this article in Lianhe Zaobao (Sun, 26 Nov):

Cargo workers in England were in for a surprise find when unloading goods. They found a cat that had "sneaked in" from Israel. The cat survived the odds, having spent some 17 days without food and water in the cargo container.

The new owner has named the white cat Ziggy for it has one blue eye and one green eye. According to a trade official, Ziggy had on 31 Oct ran into one of the goods container in a factory in northern Israel. The container was sent to the local harbour port which subsequently was shipped to a nothern port in England. The container was then sent to a warehouse in the west-north area.

When the container was finally open, Ziggy went into hiding for another five hours, possibly triggered by fright. A dish of tuna lured him out. The authorities are trying to locate its rightful owner in Israel.

Beauties' Parade

I went for the Royal Canin cat show at Chevrons today. Grimlock felt it is always the same cats competing so I went alone. Actually he is right. I just needed to see those lovely cats lah - beautiful, well taken of by their owners and such events are a good way to learn of different breeds.

Once again I conclude that if my Skoda takes part, she stands an excellent chance of being placed among the top three positions. The champion cat for the show's Household category is rather big-sized so if it turns out that the judge has a preference for curves, my Skoda will be a sure-win. What a honour it would be for a beauty queen to be residing at the Cove! (Ah, vainty, vainty, thou art my name!) Beauty aside, I can only think of one obstacle - Skoda is one feisty gal so I dare not imagine if the judge attempts any of the following on her...

Then again, I can't be 100% sure that Skoda will put up a fight. It depends on the "connection"/"chemistry" with her handler and Her Royal Highness' mood. She once exchanged kisses on the lips with a visitor at the Cove - that traitor! Couldn't believe she did that!!

Braun is my next best hope. Underdogs do pull off suprises, don't they? She should score well in terms of temperament but then, she could also end up terrified and give the judges a hard time just as well.

Fine! Mikki is my last bet. I'm gonna watch her physical traits closely and anxiously (ha, ha), and give her lots of human handling.

Alas, MY obstacle will be to get by Grimlock! He is not for sending our cats for such events. So, in the meantime, I'll admire my own cats and continue to oogle at other cats, ha ha. Here are some of the cats at the event:

One of my favourites at the show, an all-black kitten. Wished I could hug him/her!

A Singapura cat!

New Kid on the Block

We had a controlled introduction of Mikki with Braun in the evening yesterday. We're starting with Braun first because based on her temperament, she should be able to accept the newcomer more easily. Yesterday, Skoda saw Mikki from under the door and hissed twice. We wanted to clip Skoda's nails after that and she was already hyped up and "beyond control" so we couldn't clip her nails.

The intro went well. No signs of aggressiveness from Braun. She was curious of Mikki but didn't approach her. While she 'sized up' Mikki, I gave her treats so that she associates Mikki with good things and to distract her. At one point, Mikki "puffed" up her body and tail, I think, as a defense mechanism against Braun - quite funny because Mikki is still quite tiny (so how 'big" can she look) and her fur is still quite thin so it looked as if there were little spikes. More hilarious was when Mikki turned around and started running in Braun's direction. Braun actually got startled and ran off in the other direction, so it was like Mikki was chasing after Braun. We immediately sprang to our feet and went after them. Some commotion there, wow! We 'teased' Braun after that for being so 'useless'. Looks like Braun is OK with Mikki. Hmmm, introducing Mikki to Skoda is not going to be this smooth.

Mikey and Mikki each weighed 250 grams at their first vet visit on 13 Nov. Today, we put Mikki on a kitchen weighing scale and she tipped 300 grams. Her putting on weight is a good sign. We thought her body looks longer so this confirmed that our eyes are not playing tricks on us.

Mikki loves to climb up and perch herself on our thighs

Told you, she is very vocal! Squeeking away like a mouse.

Always happy to see Mikki lapping up her food

Yep, Mikki has grown a little longer, no longer palm-sized

Skoda in the News

Nay, it wasn't my CAT Skoda that got into the papers. It was her namesake, Skoda the Czech CAR brand. In case if you can't remember the story - well, it is the car brand Grimlock's favourite newscaster is driving and that was how Skoda, the cat got her name.

It was eye candy for car fans at the 8th Singapore Motorshow (10-19 Nov, Suntec Singapore). Cars of every shape and size and of course, the show girls were out in force yet again. As for me, my eyes were on the Skoda Roomster. Grimlock and I had signed up together to take our theory lessons (sad to say, in Aug but we've yet to finish the basic theory book - must really get the engine going) so if we eventually plan to get a car, the Skoda Roomster is definitely within consideration. Cool right, if we bring Skoda the cat for a car ride in Skoda Roomster, hee hee. And yeah, the description in the review: "Skoda can be fun and quirky" strikes more than a chord.

That's my babe, Skoda!